Retirement?

gfplux

Just can't understand people who don't fall in love with retirement. I retired at 52 and have had 19 wonderful years so far.
I am a man by the way.

MABLE

I retired early and do not regret it one bit. Also for me health is more important to me than anything. When I worked I was always under pressure to reach targets and suffered terrible headaches and a nervous stomach. Since taking up retirement they have now disappeared.

There are so many opportunities out there why waste it just working.

iris

My husband and I retired 23 years ago. My husband was made redundant at age 52 and couldn't find another job. We decided to see if we could in fact 'retire' on what we had coming in, so I also gave up my job.


We bought a caravan and decided to travel through France and spent 4 months in Provence every year. We also spent time in England visiting places we had never been to before. There was always a new adventure on the horizon to plan. In the winter we took courses at our local college and bought a couple of bikes to use on our local off road cycle track (Tarka trail) and would take a picnic with us and visit our local beaches.


Due to our travels we later found and bought the bungalow we now live in, which suits our needs perfectly.

I am so glad that we have had the last 23 years together, as my husband now has terminal cancer and we cannot plan anything for the future, however we still enjoy each other's company and I am glad we 'retired' early.


Make the most of your time together while you can, as no one knows what the future holds.


I suggest you show your husband all the replies to your thread Newlyretired.

pollypenny

Retirement is wonderful.

I gave up my post of responsibility a year before I retired, so the job was less stressful. Well, that was the theory, but staff still sent troublesome pupils to me instead of the useless HOD.

I did supply for a year, then didn't renew my GTC registration. I was asked to do a maternity leave. That would have meant full time again, or a very disrupted week if I'd agreed to do just exam classes.

No way. I was actually too busy with Tai Chi and various U3A groups.

As one of my friends said, 'Your sixties are the golden years'. OH is 73 and the seventies are shining pretty well so far!

Gers

I retired early (at 61) last year and am loving life. No more meetings, targets, driving long long miles, away from home for three nights at a time, nasty colleagues and constantly changing 'visions'.

Now I please myself, miss the lovely colleagues, and travel a lot, not always or even often abroad but certainly seeing more of the lovely country I live in. Living by the coast is a real joy and every day I wake up, sit up and look at it. Even in the bad weather we have here it's still so much pleasure. Whether I'm busy or lazy is down to me entirely and there's no guilt over either. OH, who is 10 years younger has choosen to keep on working though he's now coming round to the idea of ceasing.

I've just lost a 34 year old nephew / godson so the message of 'do it whilst you can' and 'live for the day' are especially pertinent right now.

PS in edit - I have one part time job (2 days a month) and one other 'job' to keep the mind a bit active though I didn't want to de-skill myself so early on. And the garden keeps me busy whenever I want it to.

KMK

What I love about being retired;

Leisurely breakfasts
Reading the paper in the morning (Used to read it at 8pm)
Shopping when it is quiet
Going on holiday any time of year
Walking on local, deserted beach
Lunches out
Reading again for pleasure
Watching old films on winter afternoons by the fire
Volunteering as room guide for the N Trust
Not having to drive on winter mornings
Dancing to my own tune!

Farway

So many have described my retirement times

I took VR mid 2003 and nearly bit their hand off in my rush to get out the door

I spent a couple of years just pottering, enjoying the freedom to do, or not do, as I pleased

Then volunteered a couple of mornings a week helping with genealogy at local Age Concern, but attendance is voluntary which I like, no commitment at all, but been doing it for about 10 years so it suits my style

I am ex RN, and my civvy work was sometimes overseas, so have seen large chunks of world and hence never saw any need to pay to go abroad since retirement, what I have been doing is going on coach holidays and day trips to UK places I had never been to

I had a spell in hosptital over Christmas, which left me hobbling around now with aid of a stick, which highlights the "do it while you can" attitude expressed by others, next week may be too late

Murphybear

gfplux wrote: »

Just can't understand people who don't fall in love with retirement. I retired at 52 and have had 19 wonderful years so far.
I am a man by the way.

I think a lot depends on finances. Not everyone is in a position to have umpteen holidays, run a car (or 2), lots of meals out, expensive hobbies etc. I enjoy being retired and we manage well because we dont have expensive tastes. Our holiday in a few weeks is a week in the North Pennines, can't afford a cruise;)

nwc389

I think the very best thing about being retired is not going to work !
No more targets, pressure , meetings , putting up with stupid head office decisions . My OH used to commute on a notorious stretch of road and just loves not having to drive that way -especially in the winter , he also loves not having to scrape ice off the windscreen in the dark on cold winter mornings .
We are lucky in that we live just a couple of miles from the coast and regularly walk on the beaches all year round , I love beach combing and photography . Lots of other lovely places nearby .
It's nice being able to do the garden and not feel under pressure to get it done when you're tired after a day at work .
We've never looked back :beer:

luvchocolate

Hi I am 64 yr old female live alone, I cut my hours at work last November from full time to 3 days, its worked really well, I have now decided to retire in September this year, I have deferred my state pension for 2 years and will have a small works pension.
Not enough for expensive holidays but should be ok.